Golf club



March 12, 1935.'-

A. A. ROOT GOLF CLUB F119@ June 15, l1952 Patented Mar.12, 1935 i. u Y i UNITED STATES PATENT,l OFFICE Y Y i 1 1,994,149 i e GOLF crime Arthur A. Root, Detroit, Mich.

Application June 15, 1932,l Serial No. 617,411 solaires. (c1. 27s-vso) My invention relatesto golf clubs having wood tion it is to be understood that the invention is or steel shafts and wood, composition or metal not limited in itsV application to the details of heads, and more particularly to means for conconstruction and arrangement of parts illus'- necting the head to the shaft and' the handle or trated in-the accompanying drawing, since the grip portion to the shaft. n invention iscapable of other embodiments and -5 An object of my invention is to provide simple of being practiced or carried `out in various ways. and inexpensive means permitting the attach- Also it is to be understood that the phraseology or ment of a shaft having cylindrical end portions terminology employed herein isfor the purposeof to a previously drilled head to produce a tight description andA not of limitation, and it isjnot joint between the headand shaft without reducintended to limit v'the invention claimed herein lo ing the flexibility ofthe club at the critical points. beyond the requirements of 'the prior art. Y Another object of the-invention is to, permit Referring nowV to the drawing, A designates as the attachment of a standard'hea'd having a taa whole the shaft, which in Fig. 1, for purposes pered or cylindrical socket or hosel to Ya shaft of lillustration only, is cylindrical at'its opposite having cylindrical end portions. A further obends and'which has a downward taper in the sec- 15 ject is to provide attaching means which isfequaltion between the handle or grip C and the head ly applicable forattaching the usual handleporor driving'portion B.V l f Y tion or grip to the shaft to permit it to be adl In accordance with the present disclosure, the justed on the shaft toadaptf the club for' players head B (Figs. 1 and 2) has been drilled to proof 'different statures. videl a tapered bore or socket portion 15 within 20 An important feature of my invention is to pro' whichis fitted a bushingor gasket 16 of-any devide attachingfmeans which vadapts itself to `sired-`r`naterial, such for exampleI as fibre, fabric, shafts', heads and handle portions of f standard or the like. The head attaching means of'my makes irrespective of whether the headfsocket invention, i. e. the means for mounting the head or hosel is tapered or cylindrical'and whether the onthe end of the shaftA comprises, preferably, 25 shaft is tapered or cylindrical at its end portions. inv the case of either a metal shaft vand head or f rOther'objects of the invention will appear from ajwood shaft and wood orrcomposition head, a the following vdescription and appended claims relatively light contractible and expansible sleeve when considered inconnection with the accornshown as` a whole at l'lwhich 'may be made of panying drawing forming apart of this specifi- 'any light weight springy non-ferrous metal, such 30 cation. Y ifor example as duraluminum,` aluminum or gal- In said drawing: Y vanize'd'iro-n. jInf'certain cases, itA maybe desir- Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a golf club em- "able/toemplo'y a sleeve made-of wood, fibre or vbodying' my invention. some other non-metallic materialespecially in Fig- 12 S a Section taken Substantially along cases where a wood head and-shaft are used.'` In 35 the'line 2-2 of Fig. 1. j e Figs. 2, 4 and 5, this sleeve hasan external taper rFgll iS a" 560111011 taken SubstantiallyalOng 18 and an internal cylindricallwall 19. -The the line 3-3 -Of Fig. 1. n Y e sleeve is provided with an external threaded por- Fig. `Pis a Section taken alOng the 1ine'4--4 tion 20Alocated preferably, at a point substan- 40 l0f Fig'. 2. f l 1 tially midway between the'ends of the sleeve,al` 40 Fig. k5 is a section taken substantially along `thoughthe Vthreads may be'placed at any'desi'red line 5--5 of Fig. 2. Y Y' A y point'on the sleeve.' Asishown, the sleeveis split V' Fg- V5 iS 2 SBCOII taken Substantially alOIlg longitudinally'at21, from the lower or inner end the line 6-6 0f Fg- '3. Y of the sleeve to a point approximating the upper -Fig- I isa section along the line '7e-'7 of Figf, ends'pof the tmfeads 20. Theslit permits the 45 Fig- 3 iS 2 PGISDGCVG VeW 0f a modified OIm sleeve to expand or contract the desired 4amount of the invention. I f vto adapt it to the shape of the shaft and socket A Fig. 9 is a section taken substantiallyalong to make 'a tighter-lt or joint between the parts. the 1`I1`9-9 0f Fg- 8. The sleeve is provided adjacent its lower or inner f 50 Fig-,10 is a section through a further modiendwith lugsor projections 22, two suchjbein'g 5o cation of the invention.` Y shown. The purpose of these lugs is to-prevent Fig- 11 is a fragmentary vertical section showany tendencyof the sleeve to rotate or move rela# ing a. further modification of my invention aptive to thelheadlsock'et and are of such acharacpliedto an iron club head. l Y ter. that they will embedthemselvesin thema- Before explaining in detail the present inventerialf of the head whenthe parts are assembled. 55

These lugs vare not essential to the desired tight iit of the parts but assist to maintain the parts against relative movement, especially when a wooden or composition head is used. A nut 23 is slipped in place over the sleeve and is engaged with the external threads 20. When the nut is turned in one direction, the sleeve is contracted to cause it to grip the shaft end tightly and make a tight fit between the parts.

The lower end of the shaft may be externally threaded at 24.V vThese threads tend'tobite into the material of the sleeve 17 and assist in locking the parts together. The threads facilitate the assembling or disassembling of the parts. The parts just described may be assembled in anylsuitable and convenient manner, one method being to slip the sleeve 17 over the end of the'shaftA, the sleeve carrying the adjusting nut 23, and after the bushing or gasket 16 has been inserted 'in the bore or socket 15 of the head, the assembled sleeve' a .corresponding taper, it will beunderstood that when the parts are assembledthey lit snugly. In

. the case-0f a wooden club it is sometimes desirable to reinforce the structure byv applying wood screws thereto, these screwsbeing-shown at 25.

The ,heads of the screws are preferably counter-` sunk in the material'of Vthe head.V This construction permits the attachment of a head having a tapered bore to a. shaft in which the end portion thereof is cylindrical and permits tightening of the parts when necessary or desirable, ,and falsopermitsremoval of the head1-from vthe shaft when and if it is desirable.toreplace'any oftheparts. Referring particularly togFigs., 3, 6 and 7,: an arrangement similar to that showny in thepreceding figures is employed forattaehing thehanelle .or gri-p portion of the club .to the upperend of the Shaft. .which upper end is also Cylindrical, In theembodiment shown in Ythese guresthe .shaft is .indicated .at A and theqhandle or grip portion .at C. `A sleeve correspOndine.tothe Asleeve 17 is provided with anrexternally tapered wall Iand with internal cylindrical wall190 so as to present a relatively close lt bet-,Ween the handle 200 andthe shaft A. The handle 1533110- videdfpreferablmwith a grip portion 201 :and may 'be `renforced at spacedpoints bymetallic vbands 202J three .such-.bands llr-:ingshown. The end of the handle maybe closed any suitable manner, as by means of a threaded cap 203. The .shaft `A is externally threaded 'at its upper end as .shown -at-124. The threads tend toembed themselves in the sleeve 170 when the parts `are assembled.. 'To-permit thesleeve to beeontracted or expanded, -it is provided with a longitudinal ,slit 211 which .extends from a point .adjacent the inner end o f the external threads 1Z0-tothe outer emi :O the :shaft The threads v120 are adapted te 'be .engagedby'an adjusting nut 123,v When the. parte are assembled as shown in Fig.`3 `I the nut .128 is rotated to contract the split portionof the l'eleeye :and cause V4it Ato engage v.the :shaft end tightly and eff-,ect :a :tight fit ,between theparts `The ex- .thermal ltaper 1.80 .of the sleeve which corresponds with the internal taper .of the handlemember 200, `pro-.vides :a tight nt between these parts. When ,it is desirable :to adjust the handle or gr-ip Ciupon .thenhaft A te :adapt-the elub for use by players pered extremities.

of different heights, the nut 123 is rotated to allow the sleeve to expand and release the pressure of y the sleeve on the shaft, whereupon the Whole handle grip structure may be moved relatively to the shaft. The nut is now turned in the opposite direction to contract the sleeve and lock theyV Y at 27o and is provided with external threads 30o. The sleeve has an externally tapered surface 271 and an internal reverse taper 272 to adapt it for use in connection with standard shafts having ta- The sleeve is provided with a pair of preferably diametrically opposed slotsv of the threads v300.

views. lIn Fig. Y10 I have shown .a cross'fsectien of a slightly modified form of sleev, form there is provided a slot '211 corresponding to the slot of Figs. 8 land 9 and three shorter,

split portions or slots which Vvf-:orrespond to the slots 212 of those gligures. The purpose of the additionalslots is toprovide the sleevewithav greater range of eontractiblityg and expansie bility whenthenecessity arises. /1f In Fig. `11 I have shown .a fur-ther.me liiietien .ofmy invention applied to anY ironlleadBB.'

.orsplit. portions 212 which extend from the base i' -of the sleeve to a point adjacent the lower end This type of sleeve is shown in Figs. Sand 9 and has external lugsor'projec-V tions 222 similar to thelugs 22 of the preceding This head iS Provided :with an internal:

agonal ,por-tion 471 which provides means tore:v Lcle-ive awr-enchfor lturning the sleeve whende The sleeve 470 hasareverse external taper sired. It willfbe noted that .the lower end of the .sleeve is Vclosed at 472 and externally .threadedat 4j/3. #me sleeve isanespntat ai from its upper or outer end to a Vpoint terminating short of its closed end 472; split por- .tion permits the ,sleeve to'beontracted' 0,1? ex-v panded when it is threaded .into by -means -of 'the application ,offa tool -to thenutportion 471.

In assembling the parte, theeylindrieal .end Dort-ion of the sha-ft A whichis externally Y threadedat 424, is inserted into .the sleeve these assembled parts :are then positioned within the socket 400. When the sleeve is rotatedjthe in the socket, and by reason o f thecontraetihilf ity` of thesleeve, as it is moved intothe socket portion, it will be understood'llhafl vt he,-s1eev e grips the en dof the yshaft andprovidesa tight joint ornt between 'fthefparta ,If desired; a

lockingv screw 475 may be employed .to :assistfin .locking the parts together. screw ;-isgth-re:td-A

ed through the socket 400 and engages .the

wall of .the vsleeve 4 471). In Ithe event that-:the attaching device, made in accordance men/(his form of ,the Yinvention;,is toibe fused with ac lub ,Shaft hav-ine .a tapered fend Dertien. a sleeveesimf fz ilar to the sleeve 470, but haiti-ng -an-internal-.tafre13m2ybeused.,

. 60 `threads 473 thereof engage threads fl 74= foraned If desirable, I may eliminate the socket portion or hosel 400 shown in Fig. 11. In lieu thereof, the socket portion or internally threaded bore in the iron head BB may be deepened, in which case the split sleeve Vd would not only serve as means for connecting the head and shaft, but the portion of the sleeve which extends above the upper face or edge of the head would provide, in effect, a socket or hosel which is removable with the shaft and which provides the necessary resilient or flexible supporting and attaching means.

It is entirely within the scope of my invention to provide, in addition to the split sleeve described above and shown in the accompanying drawing, a non-metallic resilient and compressible sleeve or member which could be interposed between the club shaft and the split sleeve to give tothe club an additional cushioning effect or flexibility.

While I have referred to my invention as used in connection with golf clubs, it is to be understood that the invention can be used with various other kinds of game clubs, such, for exam'- ple as croquet mallets, polo sticks, etc.

I claim: l

1. A golf club comprising a shaft, a head havhead and projecting above the upper face ofthev head to provide a socket portion or hosel for Asupporting said shaft, said sleeve having a bore to receive said shaft, means on said sleeve to prevent rotation thereof in said head bore, and means on said sleeve for adjusting the same to effect a tight iit between the several parts.

2. A game club having a shaft member, an end member apertured to receive an end of the shaft member, a split sleeve interposed between said members, said sleeve having a tapered vface engaging a tapered face of one of said members, and means including a wrench receiving portion for relatively shifting the sleeve and a member in a longitudinal direction to expand or contract the sleeve by coaction of said tapered faces, theresocket between the shaft and head, and means for frictionally clamping said sleeve simultaneously to the shaft and head.

ARTHUR A. ROOT. 

